Summary
APokemonfan has put together a rough concept for aPokemonbattle royale minigame. The concept, while simple, has attracted other fans interested in its mechanics and comparing it to other games not in the mainlinePokemonseries.
WhilePokemongames are most known for their “gotta catch ‘em all” style of RPG gameplay, Pokemon have been brought to other game types. Fans may recall the MOBAPokemon Unite, or even thePokken Tournamentfighting game, orthe differentPokemonmobile games available, but there is an open market for aPokemonbattle royale. Battle royale games have soared to popularity thanks to titles likeFortnite,PUBG,Apex Legends, and other shooters. But thePokemonseries, notably not a shooter, doesn’t have mechanics easily lent to a battle royale design.
Enter Reddit user __grob, who recently showed off their design for aPokemonbattler that slowly eliminates combatants until one victor remains. Players are arranged in a large ring on a checkerboard pattern and attack the Pokemon immediately adjacent to them. Players surrounded by more than one enemy have separate attacks against each one. As enemies are defeated, the remaining players relocate one square away and attack anyone who has moved next to them until one remains. It’s a simple design, more simple thanother Pokemon games with complicated battle gimmicks, but that simplicity is the strength.
It’s unclear what the damage numbers are based on, whether it’s random number generation, has to do with a certain stat or aspect of the Pokemon in question, or is dependent on player input. It’s also not clear what motivates movement to a certain spot, as many in the thread noted that one of the Pokemon moved off to the side early on, and didn’t face many challenges. While the validity of “camping” as a strategy is up for debate,many developers look to actively dissuade camping.
Time to Return to Pokemon Rumble?
The concept brought comparisons from other users to games likePokemon Mystery Dungeon, where attacks between battling are a little more simplified than in mainline games. Others also mentioned a somewhat languishingPokemonseries,Pokemon Rumble.Rumblehas gone through a few different iterations since it was first released in 2009, but mostly focuses on Pokemon toys that come to life and fight in battle royale arenas with generally simple controls. The most recent version was released in 2019, butPokemon Rumble Rushceased services in 2020.
The concept created by __grob is certainly entertaining to watch, if nothing else. Because the rules seem somewhat random, it’s more difficult to predict how the match, especially the concept match, will end. While it’s probably regrettable to engineer this concept into a game suited for gambling, it does show promise asan entertaining minigame in anotherPokemontitle.
